The Blind Viking (DISCONTINUED)
by xxTheTruMan196
Summary: Aaron Smitherd has always had the disability of sight as long as he could remember, but since when would a Viking allow a weakness to get to them? He's also been best friends with Hiccup for years, seeing something in him that nobody else will because of his weak build and constant magnet for trouble. HTTYD Movie OC.
1. Chapter 1 - Dragon Raid

Berk. The island that I call home. The crazy, cold and harsh land that will leave you gaping in shock on your first day here. Why do you ask? Dragons. It was early in the morning, everything outside completely quiet, and I was sleeping soundly in a wooden bed before waking up to hearing a noise. I listened closely for a few moments before yelling out to my parents. "Mom, Dad! Dragon raid incoming! Wake up!" The response was immediate, as they ran out the door with their axes yelling at everyone to prepare for the incoming raid.

While they did that, I searched for my walking stick that is laid next to my bed and got up when I felt it.

So I guess I should tell you about myself. My name is Aaron Smitherd, and I am 15 years old and guess what? I'm blind! Yeah I may be blind, living in a village full of Vikings, so you would think I wouldn't survive a day. However when I was young the village elder Gothi told everyone that I would have an important role to play in the future. Of course they didn't think so at first, but later on they realized that with my advanced hearing I could hear the sound of incoming dragons way before they attacked. That and I've used my ability to hear and sense ground vibrations to become a surprisingly formidable opponent, second only to Astrid.

Well back to the present, I'm heading down to Gobber's forge in order to give him and Hiccup some help with sharpening weapons. My friend Hiccup is very good at that to begin with, and with my uncanny ability to feel dullness and cracks in the blades, I can help him sharpen weapons even better. I then arrived at the forge just as Hiccup walked in.

"Ah! Nice of you two to join the party! Thought they'd carried you off!" Gobber said.

"Who, me? No I'm way to muscular for their taste! They wouldn't know what to do with all, this!"

Even though I couldn't see, I knew that Hiccup was striking a bodybuilder pose. So I rolled my unseeing eyes.

"Well they need Toothpicks don't they?" Gobber teased.

I snorted. "I'm sure that you would make a great toothpick for the Monstrous Nightmare."

Hiccup protested. "What-hey! No-no I wouldn't. I'll show them one day. Yeah that's right."

I shrugged but said nothing and continued to check the weapons. Whenever I found a spot in need of fixing, I would use a watery form of colored paint to mark it. Whenever the liquid was heated, it would melt right off, so it worked well for my purposes. More and more houses were lit aflame as the morning wore on, and soon the rest of the teens were called in for the fire brigade.

That group consisted of the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, the two mutton-heads; Fishlegs the dragon facts expert; Snotlout, the kid with a big ego; and Astrid, the top fighter in our generation, and is especially gifted with an axe. Even with my blindness, I've practiced with my other senses for years and have managed to be equal and skill at fighting with Astrid, but I use a custom sword forged for me by the very kind Hiccup. It stays concealed inside my walking stick when not in use, and the handle, or hilt, whatever you want to call it, is engraved with very fine steel, with a leather handgrip that fits my hand almost perfectly.

As another fireball exploded against the ground, I heard Gobber hook Hiccup into the building.

"Whoop! Not so fast." he said, while Hiccup protested. "Aw come one let me out please, I need to make my mark!"

"Oh you've made plenty of marks. All in the wrong places!" Gobber pointed out. I frowned a little.

"I thought burning Mildew's sheep was a good mark." I joked.

Gobber paused. "Eh, good point laddie."

Hiccup continued. "Please, two minutes. I'll kill a dragon, my life will become infinitely better; I might even get a date!"

"You can't lift a hammer, you can't swing an axe, you can't even throw one of these!" I suddenly hear the sound of a Viking grabbing something from Gobber's hand, and then I hear a sharp snap before a Gronckle comes crashing to the ground. Wow.

Hiccup walked over to one of his newer inventions, which I believed to be a bola launcher. "Ok but this will throw it for me." I guess he tapped it, because I then heard it spring open before a Viking outside grunted in pain and fell to the ground. I muffled my laughter behind my hand as Gobber rounded on Hiccup.

"See, now this right here, is what I'm talking about!"

"Mild, calibration issue…" Hiccup mumbled.

"Hiccup. If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all… this." Gobber stated in exasperation.

Hiccup sounded astonished. "But you just gestured to all of me!"

"Yes, that's it! Stop being all of you!" Gobber confirmed.

"Ooooohhhh…" Hiccup threatened mockingly.

"Ooooohhhh yeah."

I blurted in. "OOOOHHH NOOO! What happened again?" I could feel their eyes glaring straight at me so I raised my hands in surrender.

"You sir are playing a dangerous game, keeping all this, raw, vikingness, contained! There will be consequences!"

Gobber shook it off. "I'll take my chances." He grabbed one of my marked swords. "Sword, sharpen, now."

Hiccup grunted from the weight of the sword and carried it to the sharpening wheel. I continued marking another sword with paint until a distant sound caught my attention. I listened for a few moments before jumping up and ringing the bell on the side of the forge built for me to use. This bell was built for me to ring whenever I heard the tell-tale shriek of the Night Fury. Everyone scrambled around in a panic, and five seconds later the shriek of a dive-bombing Night Fury was heard in the sky to everyone.

The catapult tower in the sky exploded, and I could vaguely hear Chief Stoick the Vast yell for everyone to jump. The shriek built up again before another blast hit the tower, disabling the weapon for good.

"Man the fort laddies. They need me out there!" Gobber paused. "Hiccup, stay… put… there."

I almost laughed. "Is he your dog?" Gobber shrugged. "You know what I mean!" With a battle cry, he charged into the fray.

Almost immediately I could tell Hiccup was starting to head out with his bola launcher to try and hit a dragon down. "Hiccup." I said.

"Not now Aaron."

"Hiccup."

I said not now Aaron!"

"Hiccup!"

"What!?"

I held up the missing piece for calibrating his bola launcher while smirking. "Oh… thanks." Hiccup said sheepishly.

"Go get some dragon points Haddock."

"Thanks Aaron. You're one of the greatest friends I could have." Hiccup said. I smiled, before motioning for him to head outside. He wheeled the launcher towards the door and bursts outside, villagers yelling as he passed.

After that the raid went on for another 10 minutes at most. I kept to myself, marking the weapons but otherwise doing nothing. A minute later though, I could hear one of the large flaming torches falling through the village, and winced from every crash., as well as the sound of wing flaps from dragons getting quieter as they left. I knew that whether the destroyed torches were Hiccup's fault or not, he would still be blamed for it. Knowing this, I sighed and got up, grabbing my walking stick and then following the crowd of voices in the distance, eventually coming across the group of Vikings watching Hiccup and Stoick argue.

"...the village could do with a little less feeding don't you think?" I heard Hiccup say. A few Vikings grumbled at Hiccup while I snickered at the sarcasm.

"This isn't a joke Hiccup!" Stick yelled in exasperation. "Why can't you follow the simplest of orders!?"

"I can't stop myself! I see a dragon and I have to just, kill it, you know? It's who I am Dad!" Hiccup defended himself.

Stick sighed. "You are many things Hiccup. But a dragon killer, is not one of them." Many Vikings mumbled their agreements while Hiccup sighed. "Get back to the house. Make sure he gets there."

I decided to come along as well to provide Hiccup some encouragement. Unfortunately we also passed by the rest of the teens.

"Quite the performance." Tuffnut remarked. I could practically hear him sneering

"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That really helped!" Snotlout taunted him, making me grumble.

"Thank you, thank you I was trying so…" Hiccup trailed off.

When I passed by Snotlout I whacked him on the head with my stick, knocking him to the ground. He got up fuming. "Hey watch who you hit moron! Oh wait I'm sorry you can't see where you hit. My bad." I brushed off his insult. "Oh I know exactly where I was aiming Snotface. It's not like you can do anything to me."

"Oh yeah? I can do this!" He yelled in outrage.

I could hear his fist coming from a mile away, and sidestepped to the left before spinning around and nailing him on the head again, sending him into a wall. I snickered. "You certainly can prove you're dumber than a fly." I then turned away and walked with Gobber and Hiccup, heading towards Hiccup's house.

"It's always funny to watch that happen with Snotlout." Hiccup remarked.

"Yeah those two hits to the head probably lowered his intelligence even more than is possible," I remark with a grin.

Hiccup laughed before quickly becoming somber again. "I really did hit one," he said dejectedly.

"Hit what?" I ask him.

"A Night Fury."

I stopped, surprised. "You did? That's great Hiccup!" I genuinely congratulated him. Most Vikings believe that dragons have no heart or emotions and are only made for the sole purpose of killing humans. Now I know this to be false, since I've encountered a wild dragon before that inspected me curiously when I was nine, but otherwise left me alone. However the rest of the village waves it off as being a boar or something, saying that I couldn't see the creature so it would most likely be something else. What rubbish. However I would still fight a dragon if it meant I was defending something. Which includes the Night Fury.

"Thanks Aaron. If only my dad would listen though. He never does!"

"Ehh, runs in the family." Gobber remarked.

"And when he does it's with this, disappointed scowl, like someone skimped the meet on his sandwich." Oh here we go, another impersonation. "Excuse me barmaid! I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring! I ordered and extra-large boy with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side! This here, this is a talking fishbone!"

Gobber tried to make him feel better. "Now now it's not what you look like, it's what's inside, he can't stand." And he failed.

I looked in his direction. "Worst pep-talk ever." Gobber shrugged.

"Thank you for summing that up." Hiccup said after a moment.

"Look, stop trying so hard to be something you're not." Gobber tried to reason with him.

"I just wanna be one of you guys!" Hiccup said in defeat, before heading inside.

"You'll get there one day. I'm sure of it." I reassured him as best I could before heading home with Gobber. After a second, I heard a door open the slam shut with footsteps leading into the forest. I smiled and shook my head. I would rush after him, but I had things to do for today, and it would take me a while to navigate the forest. I may be a fantastic fighter, but when it comes to waking around rough and uneven terrain without the ability to see, it takes time to figure out the best path to take. Once I do figure that out however, I can memorize it fairly quickly, which gives me the advantage.

Although I will admit I'm a little worried about Hiccup going after a Night Fury on his own, but he's smart. He won't face it if there's a chance he could be killed.

With these thoughts in mind, I headed back to my house to clean up and prepare myself for the day.


	2. Chapter 2 - Gothi & Friends

Later at home I was busy doing whatever and inspecting my sword before my parents walked in. "Hey." I greeted before putting my sword away back into its walking stick sheath. "Hey son." My father said. "We need to speak with you for a moment." I shrugged and gestured for them to sit down on the bench.

"We've been wondering if you could possibly, stop being with Hiccup so much." I frowned and leaned back, showing my displeasure.

"And why should I do that?" I questioned.

My mom spoke up. "Well, you know how he is. He keeps on destroying part of the village every raid, and he always messes up in something! He's putting you in a bad light, you know that."

I snorted. "Well it isn't through a lack of trying. He always tries to come up with clever inventions and other things just to please his dad, but the most he gets is a nod or plain ignorance."

"But those 'things' he make always end up wrecking something. He can't even swing an axe!" Dad argued.

"And I can't see. Your point?" I retort.

He sighs in exasperation. "Why don't you hang out more with the rest of the kids, like Snotlout and Astrid?"

I laughed dryly. "The only thing Snotlout does is talk about how great he is and how he and Astrid are the "perfect" couple. He can't even count past 15." I paused for a moment. "Fishlegs is cool though. He's smart and curious about many things. And he also was once friends with Hiccup, so he understands him a little bit."

My dad sighed again in frustration. "Being friends with Hiccup just isn't good for you Aaron. You need to stop it."

The way he said it like it was a fact made me angry. "Look Dad. I can choose who I want to or don't want to hang out with in my own time. Hiccup is a good kid with more intelligence than the rest of our generation out together, and that's final." I grabbed my stick and stormed out the door, with my parents yelling at me to come back.

* * *

I stopped by the Great Hall to get some lunch. As I was eating I heard the other kids walking in, with Snotlout in the twins laughing about Hiccup's recent failure in the raid. I rolled my eyes in annoyance at their comments and continued to eat while they sat at the table. I was in the middle, so Snotlout and the twins sat at the very end to stay away from me. Good. Astrid and Fishlegs are completely fine with me, so they don't bother to try and avoid me like a plague. Fishlegs enjoys my insight and smarts, while Astrid respects me for the fighter that I am, being able to hold my own against her fairly well.

"Hi Aaron," Fishlegs greets me.

"Hey Fish. How's life?" I ask him.

He shrugs a little bit. "The usual, but tomorrow we're all going to start our Dragon Training!" he says excitedly. I'm a little surprised.

"Really? I haven't heard of that from my parents yet," I admit. Although that's probably due to the fact I stormed off after they attempted to persuade me to stop hanging out with Hiccup.

"Gobber told us after the war meeting in the Great Hall." Astrid says. I nod in understanding.

"Well, guess I better get ready for it," I respond.

"You have to get ready?" Snotlout asks with a laugh. "I was born ready! Those beasts won't know what hit them!" he exclaims, smugness and superiority oozing from him.

"Everyone has to prepare for something." I tell him. "You think I got so skilled the first day?" I ask rhetorically.

"Well I'm ready for some damage! Imagine the epic ness of fighting a dragon!" Tuffnut exclaims eagerly. Ruffnut lets off a cackle.

"Epic when you get burned to a crisp!" she tells her twin, and they engage in another arguing match. The rest of us ignore them, long passed used to it by now.

"How did you get so good at it?" Fishlegs asks in interest. I shrugged.

"Well, sometimes I had help from Gothi in moving around. I just have to use my other senses besides sight in order to 'see' in a sense." I explain.

"That's stupid. If you can't even see that how should you expect to be able to fight someone so well?" Snotlout asks condescendingly. I hear somebody whack him, and correctly assume it to be Astrid.

"He's a good fighter! Better than you," she retorts.

"But he can't see!" Snotlout responds angrily.

I manage a small grin. "No I can't. But that doesn't keeping me from realizing that the twins just placed a mouse on your tunic," I tell him with a smirk.

Moments later Snotlout screams and jumps up, swatting at his back while the twins cackle in delight, giving each other high fives. Astrid and Fishlegs let off a small snicker and I just sit here calmly, continuing to eat my food.

"You'll all regret this!" Snotlout shouts angrily, storming out of the Great Hall.

"Oh, my, THOR! That was amazing!" Tuffnut laughs in delight. "One of our best pranks ever! He was so mad!"

"Absolutely bro! Thorston genius strikes again!" Ruffnut says.

I shake my head in amusement and finish up my lunch before checking my pocket for a small portable timer. Hiccup's genius idea came up with a way for me to tell the time using a small device which constantly clicks, generating a different pattern for each hour. I don't know how he made it, but I absolutely love it. I don't have to rely on anyone to tell me the position of the sun, I just let he little device do it for me.

"Well, I've got to go see Gothi. Later," I tell them.

Fishlegs and Astrid offer me a goodbye, and I grab my walking stick, heading out the doors of the Great Hall.

Being the village elder, Gothi is the oldest person in our village, and is kind, albeit terrifying if she'a angry with you. She hasn't spoken in Thor knows how long, but has become my mentor in a way that Gobber is to Hiccup. Once she's gone I have no doubt that I would probably take her place when I'm much older.

I travel up the long and windy path to her hut, used to the far distance and direction of which to go by now from all the times I've been there.

When I reach the wooden stairs that signify the last climb before reaching her hut, I stop for a moment. I listen closely and strain my ears, swearing I heard some sort of roar. Is that a... Night Fury?

The wind blows hard again and I can't determine whether I heard the noise or not, so I continue into Gothi's home, deciding I'll look for Hiccup if he isn't back yet later.

Walking up to the door, I knock on it, and the sound of Gothi's footsteps can be heard when she answers it. She's silent as usual, although she moves away from the entrance once the door is open, so I take it as my que to enter.

"Hi Gothi," I tell her.

 _"Hello again Aaron,"_ she responds, tapping her stick. She developed and taught me a way of speaking using different taps against the floor or walls, which only she and I can understand. For the others she draws her strange writing on sand, which I can understand as well, but only if I'm touching it with my hands, so she communicates to me using taps instead.

 _"How was last night's raid?"_ she asks me.

I let off a sigh. "Oh the usual. This time the dragons got away with a little bit more than usual, and the Night Fury was there tonight."

 _"I heard that Hiccup caused a conflict within the tribe again,"_ she says.

"It was an accident. A Nightmare shot fire at one of the torches he was hiding behind, causing it to topple over," I tell her with a frustrated sigh. "How can people put the blame on him for something a dragon did? It's like they want something to blame him for!"

She taps on the ground again. _"Sometimes we can't see the bigger picture. However it is true that boy is a walking klutz of ill fortune."_

It's hard to hear but I know she's right. Wherever Hiccup goes, trouble always seems to follow him, intentional or not. It's one of the reasons why I became his friend, to help keep him out of danger. That and he's funny, kind, and understanding.

"Yeah, I guess," I say in agreement. "So what's up for today?"

 _"We're going to practice your talents at medicine and herbs this time,"_ she says. I nod in understanding. Another positive from my blindness is that I have a heightened sense of smell, allowing me to identify herbs and other ingredients that Gothi uses. The downside is when I'm in a particularly unpleasant part of the village.

She begins her lessons, showing me how to correctly identify herbs that are very similar to each other, and how to use them in different types of medicine and potions. This session takes up around an hour or two.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, I'm heading through the village in search of Hiccup with no luck. I'm about to go look in the woods behind his house when I manage to hear small timid footsteps on the other side of the square. Recognizing those footsteps, I rush up to Hiccup, immediately sensing how tense he feels.

"Hey Hiccup," I greet.

"Ahh!" he yelps, jumping away from me in surprise. I stand there with a raised eyebrow, not exactly looking at him but I cross my arms at his reaction.

"Oh, hey Aaron. Sorry about that," he says sheepishly.

"Alright what happened," I ask him.

"What? What happened?" he asks, feigning confusion.

"Your time in the woods, what happened?" I ask again as we walk down the street, the occasional Viking moving out of our way quickly. We both paid them no mind, used to it by now.

"I.. I don't know what your talking about," he says again.

I sigh in exasperation. You could tell he was lying even if you had the intelligence of Tuffnut he was so obvious.

"Hiccup, why do we do this?" I ask him.

"Uh, do what?" he asks in genuine confusion this time.

"I know you're lying. You know that I know you're lying! So what happened?" I ask again, eliciting a sigh from him.

"I went looking for it..." he mumbles. I nod along.

"When I was on the steps to Gothi's hut, I thought I heard a Night Fury roar. Did you find it?" I ask him.

I feel him stiffen slightly before exhaling to force himself to relax.

"I managed to find where it crashed, but at that point it escaped and flew away. Scared me half to death," he admits.

I'm silent for a moment, sensing truth in his statement, yet also hesitation, as if it's a half-truth. Ah well. I'll interrogate him later tomorrow. I'm tired.

"Alright, well I'm off to bed. See you in the morning Hiccup," I tell him, walking down the correct path, recognizing it as the one my house was on.

"You too Aaron!" he calls out. As we're walking away, I hear him breathe out in absolute relief, and I shake my head again, already knowing how much he was lying about what happened.

To be honest, I rather liked my house. It was at the end of our street of houses, next to the cliff ledge. We didn't have to worry about it falling off because of the firm and really strong rock there, and my parents built a small wooden fence to make sure I wouldn't accidentally fall off the ledge. Sometimes I would sit at the edge of the cliff, enjoying the breeze and smell of seawater far below, and occasionally feel some of the mist if if it was high enough or strong enough.

With these thoughts in mind, I turned in for the night after my parents informed me that they would be heading out for another search tomorrow. I offered to come with and help them find it with my increased senses, but they absolutely refused, and I couldn't argue with them. These searches were very dangerous, and they sometimes didn't come back with the same number of people that left.


	3. Chapter 3 - Dragon Training

The next morning, I woke up to he sound of knocking on the door to my house. I groaned and groggily moved to get up off my bed, fumbling around with my hands for a moment to grasp a part of the wall or bed for support. Unfortunately that didn't happen as I rolled off the bed onto the floor, rather painfully.

"Aaahhg! In the name of..." I exclaimed, holding my arm painfully. There's sure to be a bruise later on at some point.

 _"Get up lad! Dragon Training starts soon!"_ I could hear Gobber's voice from the front door, and there was probably an annoyed scowl on my face.

"I heard you Gobber!" I yell down to him. The knocking stops and I hear the sound of his peg leg getting quieter, meaning he was walking away. Odin help me I was ready to destroy the old smith for making me fall off the bed...

Shaking my head, I put my hands on the wall and felt along until reaching the bed, which I then used to support myself on my feet. Knowing where my walking stick was by now, I easily snagged it, and sighed, feeling more confident now that I was standing and had it in my hands. Now I don't have to worry about falling over again.

Except from a dragon that is.

I walked across my room and headed out into the main part of the house. My parents were already gone on the search, leaving the house to myself again. I walked over to where I remembered the food to be stored, and grabbed a piece of bread and cheese before walking out the door, holding the bread to eat in my left hand, my walking stick in my right. The other villagers were already moving out and about for our daily lives, and I shrugged. Must have slept in a little bit. Usually the street doesn't sound this busy when I wake up in the morning.

I then heard snickering from behind me, and let out a sigh. Look's like the twins were up to their antics again. After listening for a few moments, I deduce they were headed in my direction, so I continue to walk forward, baiting them.

Heading over to the side of the street, I counted my steps before turning left onto one of the small bridges of wood, which gave us extra space to view the surrounding ocean to spot invaders or dragons. Not like I had any use for it.

This also meant that I went behind a house stationed there, and I pressed myself against the wall, waiting for he perfect moment to strike. After a few seconds, their footsteps can be heard just around the corner, and I hold my walking stick with two hands and swing it in their direction.

The satisfying sound of hard wood on metal reaches my ears as I smack their helmets, and they collapse to the ground with a shocked cry of pain, a liquid substance splashing somewhere nearby. What it is I can't make out, and I probably don't want to know.

I cross my arms and do my best to glare at them, probably failing miserably.

"Are you done?" I ask rhetorically. I knew they wouldn't be mad I hit them. They fight each other all the time, so they would be more upset that their plan failed than the fact I probably gave their heads a serious bruise.

Never mind, they headbut each other for fun. They'll be fine.

"Woah. How did you do that?" Ruffnut asks me in surprise.

I shake my head in exasperation. Of course they'd forget how I did it.

"I could hear you approaching from a mile away Ruff," I tell her honestly.

"Ha! I knew you were being to loud sister! You ruined the plan!" Tuffnut accuses.

"Me!? You were the one stomping your feet you yak-brain!" Ruffnut retorts back angrily as they get to their feet.

"Oh yeah? How about I make you a yak-brain!" Tuffnut exclaims.

At this point I'm already walking away as the twins get into another argument amongst each other. Just like I thought, they'd be more upset with themselves and they're failure of a plan than the fact I actually hit them and stopped it. As I walk towards the direction of the arena, I then realize I haven't actually traveled in that direction too much before. Sure I've passed by the arena, but I've never been there directly. And if I'm correct then there's a bridge crossing a massive chasm.

Well crap.

Luckily I'm saved by the fact that Astrid seemed to be heading for the arena as well, judging by whose footsteps it is. She walks by and I stop her for a moment.

"Where's the arena exactly? I've never walked there before," I tell her, explaining my problem.

She's silent for a moment before understanding my situation.

"Follow me, I'll lead you there," she says. I nod in thanks as she continues her walk, and I follow along slightly behind her, counting the steps and memorizing the direction she's taking. I would ask Hiccup to lead me there but he wasn't in his house, and I didn't have time to check the forge, judging by Gobber's knocking on my door. Most likely he was there, since I doubt the Chief wants him learning to fight dragons unless Hiccup becomes more "Viking-like," which I don't see happening anytime soon.

"So, ready to fight some lizards?" I say casually, looking to start a conversation.

"They're more than just lizards Aaron. But yes, I am ready to take this on," she replies back simply.

While Astrid is a talented warrior, and is polite to me because of her respect for my skills with my custom made sword, that's really all that's between us. And anyone else for that manner. She's always been professional, working to improve upon her battle skills, striving to become a Shield Maiden.

"Well, I sure hope Gobber doesn't go totally crazy on us with training," I say.

Just then, the one and only Snotlout sidles up to us. By now we've made it to the wooden bridge that spans between the two cliffs.

"Hey there blindstick! How's the morning looking for ya?" he asks me. I ignore his taunts at my blindness, finding it irrelevant. I know I can mess him up so why bother spurring him on?

"And Astrid, the oh so beautiful Viking goddess," he swoons, walking closer to her.

Big mistake.

A moment later she punches him in the gut and he gasps in pain. I shake my head in disappointment. When will he ever learn?

At this point Fishlegs and the twins have joined us, and we all walked down the ramp to the gates of the arena, where Gobber is waiting for us. I know this because of his peg leg tapping impatiently. I hang more towards the back of the group while the rest surge forwards eagerly. The gate is lifted and the chains rattle from the movement.

"Welcome to dragon training!" Gobber exclaims cheerfully. Everyone makes sounds of awe as they move inside, but I shrug as I follow them. Not like I can see much of the ring, although the scent of fire and charred stone is very evident. I hear a patter of footsteps rushing to move towards the ring and smile in pleasant surprise. Looks like the Chief granted Hiccup his wish after all.

Not hearing his approach, the teens all move around the ring.

"No turning back." Astrid says determinedly.

"I hope I get some serious burns!" Tuffnut exclaims gleefully.

"I'm hoping for some mauling, like on my shoulder or lower back." Ruffnut says in agreement. I shake my head at the thought of wanted injury.

"Yeah, its only fun if you get a scar out of it." Astrid says in agreement. Definitely fun.

"No kidding right?" Hiccup's voice calls out, causing everyone to look at him in surprise and annoyance.

"Pain, love it!" he says, his voice just oozing with sarcasm. I smile in amusement.

"Oh great, who let him in?" Tuffnut says in annoyance.

"Is there a problem Tuff?" I ask him.

"Let's get started!" Gobber says, interrupting any possible argument. "The recruit who does best, will win the honor, of KILLING, their first dragon, in front of the entire village!" he says enthusiastically.

"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him? Or..." Snotlout jeers, the twins laughing at his comment. I frown and stand next to Hiccup in support.

"Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?" Tuffnut complains, and I shake my head in irritation as I walk with Hiccup. Gobber comes up behind us and throws an arm around his shoulders.

"Don't worry, you're small and weak. That'll make you less of a target! They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens!" Gobber says with a chuckle, patting Hiccup on the back.

"That is such a good moral speech," I drawl sarcastically.

"Ehh, I just call it how I see it lad," he admits, moving to the cage doors. Hiccup sighs and I pat his back in support as we step in line.

"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight!" Gobber announced, walking in front of us. The gates to the dragons cages begins to rattle, as they obviously can smell us. Fishlegs jumps in excitement.

"The Deadly Nadder."

"Speed eight. Armor Sixteen." Fishlegs says, reciting his facts giddily. I let off a sigh. Sure, it's great that Fishlegs knows so many dragon facts, but reciting them before a battle isn't always the best thing. And yes, I am confident that Gobber is going to unleash a dragon on us after telling the species. He wouldn't be this happy otherwise.

"The Hideous Zippleback!"

"Plus eleven stealth. Times two."

"The Monstrous Nightmare!"

"Firepower fifteen."

"The Terrible Terror!"

"Attack eight. Venom twelve!"

"CAN YOU STOP THAT?!" Gobber exclaims furiously, finally losing his patience. Fishlegs immediately goes silent in embarrassment, and Gobber lets off a sigh.

"And... the Gronckle," he says mischeviously. Oh no, he's in that mood. Here comes the Gronckle. Hiccup obviously notices as well and tenses up beside me.

"Jaw strength eight." Fishlegs whispers to us.

I hear the lever to the gate being pulled, and the chains start to rattle, opening the Gronckle's cage.

"Oh here we go," I whisper to Hiccup.

"You said it Aaron," he whispers back.

"Woah wait, aren't you gonna teach us first?" Snotlout asks in alarm. I smirk in amusement at his fear.

"Can't handle it Snotface?" I taunt him.

"Oh you little...!" he responds angrily, unsure of what to say. Gobber lets off a chuckle of amusement.

"I believe in learning on the job," he says.

The moment the words come out of his mouth, the cage door opens and a Gronckle surges forward, wings beating quickly and heavily. I shove Hiccup to the side and move out of the way as well, rolling across the ground. The rest of the teens scatter as the Gronckle flies past us.

"Today, is about survival!" Gobber announces. "If you get blasted, you're dead!"

The arena shakes slightly as the Gronckle slams into the wall, chewing some rocks it found as well. I pull my sword out of the walking stick sheath and hold it in my right hand, with my walking stick in my left, angled towards the ground while my sword is held defensively.

"Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?"

Gobber asks us.

"A doctor?" Hiccup suggests. I mentally face palm at his answer. How is a doctor going to help against a dragon? Unless it's a crazy axe wielding doctor.

"Plus five speed?!" Fishlegs exclaims. Wow.

"A shield!" Astrid says, calm and determined as ever.

"Shields, go!" Gobber confirms. The teens all rush over to the shields and begin to arm themselves. I don't bother with that, because first of all, I don't know where they are. Second of all, I can't use a shield to save my life surprisingly. You'd think it would be easy to use a shield, but not for me.

I also don't really like shields anyways.

"Your most important piece of equipment is your shield! If you must choose between a sword, or a shield, take the shield!" Gobber says, helping Hiccup grasp his own. He then hobbles over to me and shoves a shield towards me. I groan in annoyance but accept it, dropping my walking stick in favor of grasping the shield, slipping my forearm through the leather straps.

I manage to catch the sound of an argument between Ruffnut as Tuffnut over a shield, and breathe out in frustration. How can they argue with a dragon trying to spew lava over all our heads!? Speaking of which, the Gronckle fires a lava blast, hitting near their position.

"Tuffnut, Ruffnut, you're out!" Gobber announces.

"What?" They both ask simultaneously in confusion.

"Those shields are good for another thing, noise! Make lots of it, to throw off a dragons aim!" Gobber informs us. We do so, banging our weapons against the shield, creating a chaotic sound of clanging metal and wood.

The dragon growls in confusion, and its wing beat flutters unsteadily, showing its confusion. Well that's a useful trick.

"All dragons have a limited number of shots! How many does a Gronckle have?" Gobber asks.

"Five?" Snotlout answers, although it's more of a question.

"No, six!" Fishlegs answers excitedly.

"Correct six! That's a shot for all but one of you!" Gobber says cheerfully.

The dragon fires again, hitting a shield by the sound of things, and Fishlegs yelps.

"Fishlegs, out." Gobber says.

Fishlegs lets off a high pitched shriek of fear, running to the side of the ring. I then hear the Gronckle wings buzzing furiously in my direction, and I move to the right, rolling across the ground out of the way. The Gronckle smashes into the ground where I was a second before, and I quickly rush over away from it before it gets up again.

"Hiccup, get in there!" Gobber yells.

I hear a fireball hit the wall and Hiccup yells in surprise, but it doesn't sound like he was hit, so I move over in his direction.

"I'm moving into my parents basement, you should come by some time to work out!" I hear Snotlout say to Astrid flirtiously, and I can't believe he's that stupid.

"You look like you work out," he says before shouting in surprise and pain, his shield being blasted head on by the Gronckle. What an idiot.

A moment later, Astrid rolls up beside me, as well as Hiccup, who sidles up to us casually. I listen for the Gronckle again, easily picking up its wing beat as it flies around the arena in aggravation.

"So, looks like it's just you and mean right guys?" Hiccup asks casually. I can't help but form a small grin on my face.

"Nope, just you!" Astrid responds, rolling away. I hear the Gronckle fly in our direction and my grin falls.

"Oh crap, move Hiccup!" I exclaim, leaping out of the way. Hiccup yelped in fear and surprise as the Gronckle fired, knocking his shield out of his hands. I stood up and listen as Hiccup ran after the shield, the Gronckle chasing him.

"One shot left." Gobber announced. I gritted my teeth angrily. Could Gobber not see that Hiccup's life was in danger?!

Apparently he could once Hiccup abandoned the chase for his shield.

"Hiccup!" Gobber yelled worriedly. I ran in his direction along with Gobber, but Hiccup was pressed against the wall, and I could hear the Gronckle preparing a fire blast.

Just as it was about to fire, Gobber hooked his prosthetic into the Gronckle's mouth, yanking it away just as the lava blast was released, scorching the wall above Hiccup's head. I then rushed up beside Hiccup in concern.

"You ok Hiccup?" I asked worriedly. He doesn't reply for a few moments, probably watching Gobber throw the dragon back into its cage before replying.

"I- I think so. Thanks," he says gratefully. With a smile I pull him to his feet as Gobber approaches us. The teens are all panting heavily, exhausted by our first training session.

"Remember, a dragon will always, always... go for the kill." Gobber warns us before walking away.


	4. Chapter 4 - Suspicions & Dragon Books

After the whole Dragon Training, near-death experience today, I was exhausted. Running around a cage with an angry dragon at your heels and bumbling vikings can be stressful for pretty much anyone. Thankfully today's lesson was over, and I was walking out of the ring with Hiccup, after he had retrieved my walking stick.

"You sure you're alright?" I ask him in concern.

"Huh?" Oh yeah, yeah I'm good Aaron. Thanks by the way," he says gratefully.

I nod with a small smile on my face. "Good. Now I have to add another tally to the amount of times you've almost been killed," I tease him.

He lets out a sigh of exasperation. "Hey, it's not my fault! Stupid stuff just happens!" he protests, and I shake my head in amusement.

We continue walking in the direction of the village, and as usual people give us a wide berth, staying clear from Hiccup like he's the Scourge of Odin, which is absolutely sickening. I then notice that Hiccup seems to be quieter than usual.

"Hey, dude," I say, nudging him. "Are you ok?"

"You just asked me that Aaron," he replies dryly.

"You're quieter than usual, which means your thinking. And when you're thinking, something big has happened," I point out suspiciously. I don't see or hear it, but I know he's tensing up beside me as I stare in his general direction. "So what's on your mind? You know I'll always help you," I ask kindly.

Hiccup is silent for a moment before responding. "I'm.. sorry Aaron, but nothing's wrong. Just something that's been bugging my mind for a little bit. Nothing to worry you about," he says in an attempt of reassurance. It fails.

I stare blankly at him, well I think I am, and he starts to fidget under my gaze as I decide how to respond. Finally, I let our a sigh and nod my head reluctantly. "If you say so Hiccup," I respond.

I hear him quietly exhale in relief, and my mind starts spinning. He's definitely hiding something, and I can't help but admit I'm a little bit hurt by the fact that he doesn't trust me enough to share the details. But I'll figure it out.

"Wel;, I've got some work to do Aaron. See you later tonight?" he says.

"Yeah, at the Great Hall for Gobber's post-mortem lesson." I respond, my voice laced with sarcasm that I picked up from Hiccup.

"Haha, alright, gotta go, later!" he exclaims, taking off rather quickly after that. I continue to walk onwards, listening to the sound of Hiccup's footsteps before making my move. Moving into a jog, I mentally count the steps I have to take while following in Hiccup's direction, far enough that he shouldn't be able to notice me. It's frustratingly hard trying to pick out the sound of Hiccup's movements while heading through the village, with loud vikings stomping and yelling everywhere, but I barely manage to stay on his trail.

Following after him, I run over the theories in my head of where exactly he is going, before coming to a realization. He was headed for the forest, in the same direction he went after the raid! Curious, I move faster before coming to the end of the town, stopping in frustration. Between me and the forest is an open field, and Hiccup is still crossing. I'd have to wait until he reaches the trees before i can continue on without being spotted. Which sucks, because I can't navigate through the forest very well at all, having never entered it before. Who knows what kind of roots or ledges or horrible obstacles stand in my way.

After a few more moments pass, I hear the leaves from a bush rustle, as well as the quieting of Hiccup's feet, and realize he's made it to the forest. Dashing forwards across the clearing, I make it to the forest in record time, just barely keeping myself from hitting a bush or tree after hearing the leaves blowing in the wind. Sticking my walking stick out cautiously, I listen for the sound of Hiccup's footsteps before slowly moving forward in where I believe his general direction was, counting the steps on the way so that I could remember the way back.

Brushing aside a branch, I continuously poke the ground in front of me to get a lay of the land, managing to avoid some rocks and dips in the ground. Unfortunately for me, my progress is painfully slow, and I don't think I can hear Hiccup's footsteps anymore. Whats worse, I've been traveling through the forest in his direction for a few minutes now, and I have no idea how far into the woods I am. Just my luck.

"In the name of Thor," I mutter angrily. "Just my luck that I decide to follow after a fishbone in the woods."

Just then I hear the distant sound of a dragon roar, the cry just barely reaching my ears. I snap my head in that direction, realizing it to be the same sound I heard before.

"A Night Fury..." I breathe out slightly in awe. From what I heard, it seemed to be in some sort of distress, but it wasn't a pained cry.

I then think back on the raid from earlier, remembering Hiccup's claim. "No way," I say quietly."

With a new destination in mind, I start to head in the direction of the sound confidently, tapping the ground in front of me and brushing aside the thick branches and heavy leaves. For the next few minutes all is going well in my stroll through the woods before Loki decides to honor me. I manage to miss a small sharp stone with my stick, and catch my foot on it. I was absolutely unprepared, and fall to the ground with a cry, rolling down a small hill that was next to me, hitting a few fallen twigs and branches on the way down.

The accident happens fairly quickly, and was only a few feet of distance, but the damage had been done.

"OH THOR!" I exclaim furiously.

I was now lost.

Why, oh why oh why did I consider heading through the forest after Hiccup without a guide to be a good idea? Now I was lost in the Berkian forest, with no real clue of my bearings besides what I could hear. The Night Fury's roaring had stopped quite a while ago, and Hiccup was nowhere in hearing distance. Smacking my stick onto the ground in frustration, I contemplate my options. Using the sun as my way of direction won't work, for obvious reasons, and i can't look around to remember my surroundings either.

I don't know exactly how long I was waiting there, but I finally started to crawl around, looking for any indents in the ground caused by my footsteps or from my fall down the slope. My hands continue to delicately brush over the rock, dirt and moss, searching for any indication of where I had been. After a few more minutes, I stopped after brushing my hand over a small crease in the ground. Focusing on it, I use my sense of touch to determine that it was one of my footprints, and then judge what angle it's facing.

Heading towards the back of the footprint, I move past it to find another footprint not to far away, and another, and another before finally remembering where I am.

"O, thank Thor thank Thor," I breathe out in relief. I remember what count these steps were, being just before I tumbled down the hill. Tracing my steps and counting off which ones they were, I make my way back to the village, not in the mood to continue searching for Hiccup. I was totally fed up with the woods right now.

* * *

Probably about an hour later, according to my timer device, I finally broke free of the treeline, back on familiar ground and slumped over in relief. After that terrifying experience in the woods, I didn't have any plans of heading back in there, unless I knew exactly what path Hiccup was taking, which I intend to survey every time he enters the forest.

The air smelled more like rain water, and the wind began to pick up as thunder boomed overhead, signifying an approaching storm. Without a moment to waste, I head in the direction of the Great Hall, entering the door just as water begins to fall from the sky. Inside are all the teens and Gobber, discussing nonsense with each other. All except for Hiccup.

I head over to the table and grab a plate of food, sitting down on the far end of it, away from Snotlout and the twins.

"Anybody seen Hiccup lately?" I question casually, biting off a piece of meet.

"I saw him jump off a cliff if that helps!" Snotlout exclaims mockingly, and I tense up before letting out a sigh. Hiccup wouldn't do that, I know this as a fact.

"I saw him bawling his eyes out like a baby," Tuffnut says gleefully, Ruffnut snickering in amusement. Fishlegs and Astrid are quiet, while Gobber sighs in exasperation.

"Forget I asked then," I respond in annoyance.

"No, I haven't seen Hiccup since the ring laddie," Gobber replies honestly. "Alright, where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?" he questions as the door opens.

The sound of rain and the pitter patter of light steps signifies Hiccup's entry into the Great Hall, and I sigh in relief, glad he's ok.

"I mistimed my mistimed my summersault dive, it was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble," Astrid answers immediately.

"Yeah, we noticed," Tuffnut says in annoyance, and Snotlout moves to swoon over Astrid.

"No no, you were great. That was so... Astrid," he says, vying for attention from her. Astrid groans in disgust and yanks her hand away from him as Hiccup approaches. I wave my hand to get his attention, which he hopefully noticed.

"She's right, you have to be tough on yourselves." Gobber says approvingly. "Where did Aaron go wrong today?" he asks again.

"Umm, I'm not sure," I reply honestly.

"He never saw the dragon, so he couldn't attack!" Snotlout exclaims proudly, thinking himself clever while the rest of us sigh in annoyance, even the twins.

"You're such an idiot," Ruffnut says as Astrid answers the question.

"He didn't go for the shield first, which is the most important tool in a fight," she answers, and I shrug in a whatever motion. Gobber grunts in confirmation, most likely nodding his head.

"Yep, that's the one! Shields are your the most important piece of equipment. Never battle a dragon without one!" he says.

"Alright, but shields have never been good with me to be honest Gobber," I tell him as Hiccup moves forwards to pick up some food.

"I know that, and we'll be wokring on it!" he then turns around in Hiccup's direction, and I shake my head, already knowing what was to come.

"Where did Hiccup go wrong?" he demands, and Snotlout starts to move across the benches as Hiccup passes by to keep him from sitting down, most likely wearing a stupid smug grin that I"m thankful I can't view. Getting up in annoyance, I switch tables to where Hiccup decided to sit while the teens take the opportunity to taunt him. Passing by Snotlout, I shove his head away, most likely wiping the smug grin off his face.

"Uh, he showed up." Ruffnut says.

"He didn't get eaten?" Tuffnut suggests.

"He's never where he should be." Astrid says, voice cold.

"Thank you Astrid." Gobber says.

I pat Hiccup's shoulder comfortingly. "I thought you did fine," i tell him with a smile. I can tell he smiles back at me, judging from his body language.

"You need to live and breathe this stuff; the dragon manual." Gobber announces, slamming a large book onto the table. "Everything we know about every dragon we know of," he announces seriously, causing me and Hiccup to perk up in curiosity. A boom of thunder rumbles through the sky from outside, and Gobber moves away to leave the Great Hall.

"No attacks tonight. Study up!" he tells us, the storm being the reason why dragons won't attack.

"Wait, you mean read?" Tuffnut asks in horror.

"While we're still alive?" Ruffnut questions, equally horrified.

"What idiots," I tell Hiccup, who snickers in amusement.

"Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about?" Snotlout demands angrily, and I smack my face with my palm at his stupidity.

"Alright, fine. Tell me Snotlout, how do you kill a Snaptrapper?" I ask him, standing up from my seat.

"By slicing off it's head, duh!" he responds snarkily.

I roll my eyes and do another facepalm. "It has four heads you snot brained idiot." I retort with a deadpan.

"So?" he demands, not getting the problem. I sit down with a frustrated sigh not even bothering to waste what precious brain power I have on Snotlout.

"I never thought he could get any dumber," Hiccup says. I shake my head.

"At this point I would be surprised if he gets anything above last place," I comment. The teens are starting to leave the Great Hall, with Fishlegs chattering on about dragon facts while Snotlout and the Twins attempt to get away from them. Hiccup sidles up to Astrid, who is still at the table with the book. Is she contemplating on whether or not to read it?

"So I guess all three of us will share-" Hiccup starts to suggest when she immediately cuts him off, shoving the book away from her. How typical.

"Read it," she responds coldly, rushing out of there.

"Oh, oh well, all mine then to look at. I guess we'll see you-!" he calls out as the door slams, stopping him mid-sentence. "...tomorrow," he finishes, a little dejected.

"Oh forget them, they're just punks," I tell him. "Now read the book! I can't see Mr. Haddock!" I demand mockingly, and he comes back over.

"Alright then, Mr. Bossypants!" he retorts playfully, and I roll my eyes in amusement.

* * *

Later when everyone was gone, me and Hiccup were in the Great Hall alone, seated at the table. He opens the book and starts to read it.

"Dragon classifications. Strike class. Fear class. Mystery class," he says.

"Thunderdrum. This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight," he reads from the book.

"Well that's rather cheery," I remark sarcastically.

"I don't want to meet that dragon," Hiccup responds nervously, flipping the page.

"Timberjack. This gigantic creature has razor sharp wings that can slice through full grown trees...extremely dangerous. Kill on sight," he reads again.

"I'm more caught by the fact that they used the exact same description of how to deal with the dragon," I point out with a frown. Hiccup is also a little curious about that as well.

"I think the dragons all have that label," he says in surprise.

"HA! That's so stupid," I say, shaking my head in disappointment as Hiccup continues to read. "Scauldron. Sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous."

A loud crash of thunder sounds outside of the Great Hall, and Hiccup yelps in surprise. The sound is a lot louder for me than it is for him, so I practicaly leap out of the spot I'm sitting, muffling curses coming from my throat. Despite that, Hiccup manages a small laugh at my reaction.

"Oh sure. Laugh at the viking with sensitive hearing," I comment in irritation, sitting back down.

"Sorry," he apologizes, although I can hear the smile on his face.

"Apology accepted. Now please, continue," I tell him with a gesture.

"Alright. Well, here it shows a Changewing. Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight," he reads again, continuing to flips quickly through the pages. "Gronckle. Zippleback. The Skrill. Bone Knapper. Whispering Death. Burns its victims. Buries its victims. Chokes its victims. Turns its victims inside-out. Extremely dangerous. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight. Kill on sight. Kill on sight..."

"I'm starting to not really enjoy this book at all, it's terrible," I comment with a frown.

"Night Fury," Hiccup says quietly, and I perk up in interest. What does this part of the book say?

"Speed unknown. Size unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself," he reads in awe. "Never engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you."

"Quite a description," I say as he brings out his notebook, tossing it on the table.

"What's on your notebook?" I ask curiously, taking notice of it.

"Nothing really. Just a sketch of a dragon," he says quickly. I frown in surprise, becoming even more suspicious before shrugging my shoulders. It's not like I could see what was on the paper.


	5. Chapter 5 - Deadly Nadder

Next day of Dragon Training, was absolutely ridiculous. This time we were facing a Deadly Nadder, while having to maneuver through a maze. Now the dragon itself isn't the biggest problem for me, rather it's the freaking maze itself. Getting around was absolutely ridiculous since I could not see the walls, and didn't have much room to move around. All I could rely on was the sound of the dragon and teens. As well as Hiccup, who was kind enough to lead me around the maze as best as he could... when he wasn't distracted.

"You know, I just happened to notice the book had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book? Or a sequel? Maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet?" Hiccup asked Gobber, much to my exasperation.

"Hiccup, look out!" I warned him, hearing the dragon charging for us.

A burst of fire and yelp from Hiccup, as well as the sound of the nearby wall being charred and blasted gets my attention, and I leap to the side in the direction of Hiccup, running after him as the dragon roars behind us, giving chase.

"Focus Hiccup! You're not even trying! Even in a maze Aaron is doing better than you!" Gobber calls out.

I frown in annoyance. "Hey!" I yell back at him, insulted.

"You know it's true laddie!" Gobber shouts.

"I know but you don't have to be a jerk about it!" I retort, before Hiccup pulls me behind the wall, having discarded his axe, since the blade most likely got fried. "I hate mazes," I muttered angrily, jabbing my stick into the ground.

"Sorry," Hiccup apologizes.

Luckily Gobber didn't force me to take a shield into the arena this time, since he knew how difficult it would be for me to navigate the maze, much less carry around a giant shield in battle at the same time. So I was happily back with my trusty walking stick and sword. The Nadder jumped on top of the maze walls, hopping across them from the sound of things.

"Today is all about, attack!" Gobber exclaims happily. "Nadder are quick, and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter!"

"Yeah, it'd be much easier if I actually knew my surroundings," I say sarcastically, following Hiccup through another corridor while the teens rush past us.

"Can you even remember anything at all?" Hiccup asks. "You know, like retracing your steps or something?"

"Sort of," I say uncertainly, not confident in my ability to do so during such a chaotic moment. Sure, I have great memory when it comes to mapping out my surroundings in my head after moving through them, but this is a battle zone for crying out loud. Although I guess this could be useful training in helping me to move around in unfamiliar surroundings, if I get caught off guard by a battle in a place I haven't been too yet.

Fishlegs suddenly screams and the sound of spikes hitting wood rings across the arena. "I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods!" he yells in a panic.

"Look for its blind spot," Gobber advises us. "Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike!"

"Well isn't that ironic?" Hiccup says dryly.

"Oh shut it Haddock," I retort, shoving him forwards. All goes a little quieter all of a sudden, and although I can vaguely hear the dragon it isn't moving so quicker, probably in stealth mode. Well it can't hide from me, I have great hearing! Yay!

"How bout I give you one?" I hear Ruffnut exclaim, as well as the clang of metal from right next to where the Nadder is at. With a sigh of exasperation, I conclude that they probably got into the blind spot of the Nadder successfully, but began an argument with each other, effectively ruining their success. The sound of fire can be heard and he twins scramble away from the Nadder.

"Blind spot yes. Deaf spot? Not so much," Gobber chuckles knowingly.

"Yeah, you would know Gobber!" I shout up in amusement, since he and Hiccup have learned very well from me that blindness doesn't stop hearing from being able to detect something. Hiccup then wanders back over to where Gobber should be, and I groan in exasperation. I get he suddenly had an interest in night furies, but does he really expect to learn anythingg about them from Gobber?!

"Hey, so how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?" Hiccup asks curiously again, oblivious to he fact that the dragon is approaching.

"Nonone's ever met one and lived to tell the tale now get in there!" Gobber yells angrily.

"Except you Hiccup," I say quietly.

"What?!" he asks me suddenly in a high-pitched voice, and I smirk to myself. He definitely has met the Night Fury already, and not just from shooting it down.

"Hiccup, Aaron!" Astrid whispers harshly, and upon hearing the sniffing dragon and clawed steps moving closer, I shove Hiccup down beside Astrid and Snotlout, pressing myself against the wall like the others, listening to the dragon approach.

"It's distracted," I tell them quietly, hearing the dragon sniffing in the opposite direction to us.

"Ok," Astrid whispers back, peeking out and rolling across the gap expertly. Snotlout follows, rolling as well and I move forwards next, rolling across the open corridor without a sound, having mastered the art of stealth so well that even I had trouble hearing myself if I tried really hard.

Unfortunately Hiccup was less fortunate, the shield being to heavy for him to carry when he attempted to roll across the gap with us, creating a metallic thud, which instantly gets the Nadder's attention.

"Oh boy," I say worriedly.

Hiccup yelps and manages to get to his feet, running away as soon as the dragon snaps at him quickly. I run along as well, doing my best to run through the maze with my walking stick held out straight in front of me. The end of the stick hits a wall and I do my best to react appropriately, but my shoulder slams into the wall mid turn, rather painfully as I fall to the ground, Hiccup running after me.

"Oh, that hurt!" I mutter irritably, scrambling to my feet and rushing after Hiccup as he runs past in a panic. Not long after the Nadder stops chasing us, much to my relief, and I take a moment to catch my breathe. I hate his maze.

"Can you stop with the questions already?" I ask him in exasperation.

"But here's so much I want to know-" he starts to say.

"Yep, you've met one!" I say triumphantly, pointing a finger at him.

"Met what?" he asks nervously.

"A Night Fury! It's so obvious for me!" I tell him.

"W-what? No I haven't!" he protests, and I roll my eyes at his obvious lie.

"Fine, we'll talk later!" I tell him, moving down the corridor, hand on the wall. Hiccup sighs but quickly follows after me, when Snotlout's voice gets my attention.

"The sun was in my eyes Astrid!" he exclaims defensively, most likely having done something stupid. "What do you want me to do, block out the sun? I can do that!"

"Well take that up with Aaron, he can aim better than you and he can't see!" Astrid yelled at him angrily, and I snicker to myself at how true that was.

Then I realize that Hiccup is over by Gobber again, asking questions, much to my bewilderment. Before I can move over, Astrid's panicked yelps and the sound of the Nadder slamming into the walls rather loudly gets my focus away from Hiccup. The wall behind me starts to fall, and I widen my eyes in terror.

"Oh come on!" I yell out, running as fast as I can out of he path of the falling wall. The sound of breaking and cracking wood becomes extremely close, and at the last moment I jump as far as I can, hitting the ground in a roll as the wooden wall slams down where I was moments ago.

"Hiccup!" I hear Gobber shout.

"HICCUP!" comes Astrid's panicked and angry yell, and everything finally falls on the ground. Well at least there's no more maze for me to hate right?

"Ooooh, love on the battlefield!" Tuffnut says in amusement.

"She could do better," Ruffnut replies in delight, and I make the assumption that Astrid probably fell on top of Hiccup when the walls came down, hence her panicked yell.

The Nadder squawkes angrily, and gets up while Hiccup and Astrid attempt to separate themselves. I get up and rush over to the Nadder, swinging my walking stick and smacking it hard in the snout. It roars angrily and in pain, turning to me and breathing fire, but I leap out of the way before it hits, although I can feel the heat very well, and it stings a little bit. The fireblast threw my balance off, and I stumble across the ground, when the Nadder returns it's focus to Astrid and Hiccup

I hear Hiccup yelp in pain before Astrid gets up just as the Nadder screeches, changing at them. The sound of spintering wood against the dragon's skin can be heard, and the dragon yelps painfully, quickly moving away with a few pained whimpers.

"Well done Astrid!" Gobber congratulates, heading inside the arena with us to wrestle the Nadder back into its cage. I slowly get up with a sigh, shaking slightly from the ridiculous close calls with that Nadder.

"Is this some kind of a joke to you?" Astrid yells angrily, and I frown. "Our parents war is about to become ours. Figure it which side you're on," she threatens as I move over to them.

"Hey Astrid, give him a break it was an accident," I say in defense.

"An accident that could have gotten us killed!" she retorts.

"Well instead of yelling at him about it, how about you actually offer some help or advice so that he doesn't make the same mistake!" I fire back, crossing my arms in frustration. "Nobody around here ever bothers to help him except me and occasionally Gobber."

"Well who would want too?" Snotlout speaks up, and I sigh irritably, walking over to Hiccup as he stands up slowly.

"Whatever," I tell the teens. "Come on Hiccup," I say.

"Ok! Um, yeah sure. So I'll uhh... see you guys later...?" Hiccup tells everyone awkwardly, before shuffling after me when no one says anything.

"Well that was horrible," he says dryly while the two of us cross over the wooden bridge. "Sorry about the accident." Hiccup apologizes.

I let out a sigh. "You're fine Hiccup, I just wish they would stop yelling at you."

"She was right though. It technically was my fault that happened," he says.

"Oh and it definitely was!" I say quickly in agreement, and I know he's most likely glaring at me. "Doesn't give her the right to scream and yell at you like that though."

"I guess," he says glumly. "Well, I- I gotta go do something, so I'll see you later!" he says, quickly taking off. I stop in surprise before becoming suspicious, and quickly follow after him as quietly as I can. What is he up to?


End file.
